Author: Robert Wainwright
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1925268438
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 444
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Book Description
WINNER OF THE TIMES 2017 BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 BOARDMAN TASKER PRIZE FOR MOUNTAIN LITERATURE 'One of the two best Alpinists of his time - Mallory was the other.' The Times In the spring of 1901 a teenager stood on top of a hill, gazed out in wonderment at the Australian landscape and decided he wanted to be a mountaineer. Two decades later, the same man stood in a blizzard beneath the summit of Mount Everest, within sight of his goal to be the first to stand on the roof of the world. George Finch was at the highest point ever reached by a human being and only his decision to save the life of his stricken companion stopped him from reaching the summit. George Finch was a rebel of the first order, a man who dared to challenge the British establishment who disliked his independence, background, long hair and lack of an Oxbridge education. Despite this, he not only became one of the world's greatest alpinists, earning the grudging respect of his rival George Mallory, but pioneered the use of the artificial oxygen that enabled Everest to finally be conquered thirty years after his own attempt. A renowned scientist, a World War I hero and a Fellow of the Royal Society, involved in the development of some of the twentieth century's most important inventions, his skills helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz. Finch's public accomplishments, however, were shadowed by his complicated private life and his fraught relationship with his son, the actor Peter Finch. Acclaimed biographer Robert Wainwright restores George Finch to his rightful place in history with this remarkable tribute to one of the twentieth century's most eccentric anti-heroes.
Author: Robert Wainwright
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1760637130
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 397
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Book Description
The marvellously strange but true story of the family behind the famous Darrell Lea confectionery company. In the early 1930s, the Australian family confectionery company Darrell Lea was a sensation, its shops stacked with delicious chocolates, marshmallows, nougat and much more in line with the company's motto to 'Stack 'em high, watch 'em fly'. It was at this time that Montague Lea met the vivacious teenage 'ticket writer' Valerie Everitt. Monty fell hard for her and, despite strong family opposition on both sides, they would marry. Valerie was keen to have a large brood and, though her pregnancies were difficult, she gave birth to four children. But they were not enough and in 1947 she adopted the first of three more children who were designed to be playmates for her own. It was a social experiment that would end in tears, as would the fortunes of the iconic company, destroyed by the glue that once bound it together - family. Rocky Road is the story of this chocaholic clan and the creative and eccentric woman who dominated it. Behind the irresistible sweetness of Darrell Lea lay a family who made bitter sacrifices to succeed in the candy business.
Author: Robert Wainwright
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780733333729
Category : Mount Everest Expedition
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
"George Ingle Finch, mountaineer, soldier, scientist, rebellious spirit, boy from the bush, was in his day one of the most famous men in the world. In 1922 he stood at the highest point on Everest, a feat not bettered for 30 years. He invented the predecessor to the puffer jacket and pioneered the use of oxygen in climbing. A World War I hero whose skills also helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz of World War II, he was a renowned scientist who was personally chosen by Nehru, the first Indian prime minister, to help lead his nation into the modern world. With a private life torn by war and misguided by social norms, a reputation as an outsider among the British alpine climbing establishment, and some rough and ready 'colonial' habits, Finch was a brilliantly colourful character - so why has he vanished from the pages of history?" --
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mountaineering
Languages : en
Pages : 734
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Book Description
Author: Robert Wainwright
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 1460703677
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
The first full-length biography of George Ingle Finch - maverick Australian mountaineer, scientist, concert pianist and father of actor Peter Finch. George Ingle Finch, mountaineer, soldier, scientist, rebellious spirit, boy from the bush, was in his day one of the most famous men in the world. In 1922 he stood at the highest point on Everest, a feat not bettered for 30 years. He invented the predecessor to the puffer jacket and pioneered the use of oxygen in climbing. A World War I hero whose skills also helped save London from burning to the ground during the Blitz of World War II, he was a renowned scientist who was personally chosen by Nehru, the first Indian prime minister, to help lead his nation into the modern world. With a private life torn by war and misguided by social norms, a reputation as an outsider among the British alpine climbing establishment, and some rough and ready 'colonial' habits, Finch was a brilliantly colourful character - so why has he vanished from the pages of history? In this first full-length biography, Robert Wainwright surveys the man who is now best known as the father of Academy award-winning actor Peter Finch - but who was so much more.
Author: Mick Conefrey
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1639366369
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231
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Book Description
An authoritative, myth-piercing study of the world-famous explorer George Mallory, who disappeared on Mount Everest in 1924. In the years following his disappearance near the summit of Mount Everest in June 1924 at the age of thirty-seven, George Mallory was elevated into a legendary international hero. Dubbed "the Galahad of Everest,” he was lionized by the media as the greatest mountaineer of his generation—a man who had died while taking the ultimate challenge. His body was only recovered in 1999 and there is still speculation about whether he made it to the summit. Handsome, charismatic, and daring, Mallory was a skilled public speaker, athlete, technically-gifted climber, a committed Socialist, and a supremely attractive figure to both men and women. His friends ranged from the gay artists and writers of the Bloomsbury group to the best mountaineers of his era. But that was only one side to him. Mallory was also a risk-taker who, according to his friend and first biographer David Pye, could never get behind the wheel of a car without trying to overtake the vehicle in front; a climber who pushed himself and those around him to the limits; a chaotic technophobe who was forever losing or mishandling equipment; a man who led his porters to their deaths in 1922, as well as his young climbing partner Andrew Irvine only two years later. So who was the real Mallory? What were the forces that made him and ultimately destroyed him? Why did the man who, in 1922, denounced oxygen sets as "damnable heresy” himself perish on an oxygen-powered summit attempt two years later? And perhaps most importantly, what made him return to Everest for his third and final attempt? Using diaries, letters, memoirs, and thousands of contemporary documents, Fallen is a gripping forensic investigation of Mallory’s last expedition that, at long last, separates the man from the myth.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Mountaineering
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Author: Robert Wainwright
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761062972
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 332
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Book Description
The tumultuous life of Australia's most famous opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba. AUSTRALIA'S FIRST INTERNATIONAL SUPERSTAR When most Australians think of Nellie Melba they picture a squarish middle-aged woman dressed in furs and large hats, an imperious Dame whose voice ruled the world for three decades. But there was much more to her life than adulation and riches. To succeed she had to overcome social expectations, misogyny and tall-poppy syndrome. She endured the violence of a bad marriage, was denied by scandal a true love with the would-be King of France, and suffered the loss of her only child for more than a decade, stolen by his angry and vengeful father. Against all odds, Nellie Melba became the greatest opera singer of her time on stages across Australia, America and Europe.
Author: Aleister Crowley
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 1609258037
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
The Equinox became the standard for English language esotericism in the early 20th century, aptly termed the "Encyclopedia of Initiation" by its principal editor and contributor, Aleister Crowley. This tenvolume collection had remarkable variety, depth, and the utility of its contents encompass Qabalah, tarot, yoga, and the essential papers of Crowley's teaching order, A.A. Unfortunately, much of this material is currently out of print. Now, renowned scholar and U.S. Duputy Grandmaster General of the O.T.O., Lon Milo DuQuette offers readers The Best of the Equinox: Enochain Magick, Volume Iand presents readers with the Enochian selections from The Equinox and contains the Enochian Magic of John Dee and Edward Kelley--perhaps the most powerful and most popular of all magical systems. Selected by DuQuette from both inprint and outofprint editions of The Equinox, this is an affordable volume for Crowley fans, packed with high magick.
Author: Bernadette McDonald
Publisher: The Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 9780898869422
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 300
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Book Description
The biography of Charles Houston, M.D., famed for leading the heroic K2 expedition of 1953 and his pioneering research in high-altitude medicine. · Drawn from extensive interviews with Houston and full access to his letters and personal journals· Historic photos from Houston's Himalayan expeditions, Peace Corps leadership in India, pioneering high-altitude medicine research, and more · Foreword by Bill Moyers, introduction by Tom Hornbein
